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York woman builds new business after discovering paduka sandals on visit to India

Michelle Hill discovered paduka sandals in India. Now she's building an online business.

By Teresa McMinn

For the Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
04/25/2014 02:14:24 PM EDT

Michelle Hill with her stock at her home in York earlier this month. Hill lost her job as a high-end ceramic tile designer and founded Paduka Sandals after she visited India and found a shoe merchant there who had a unique product she brought home to York. (Paul Kuehnel - Daily Record/Sunday News)

Michelle Hill came home from a trip overseas and realized she couldn't walk down the street without someone noticing her shoes.

Those shoes have now become her business.

Hill, 39, of York, had worked in the high-end tile and stone design industry for a few years, but later lost her job in the economic downfall. About two years ago, she went to India to find inspiration for her future.

The people were kind and friendly, and "It felt like a home away from home," she said.

At a street vendor's shop, she found a pair of paduka sandals. The shoes are made of leather and rubber, are decorated with a variety of ornate work including glass beads, and have a post and knob that fit between the big and second toes.

"I wasn't particularly a shoe girl," she said, but the Indian-made sandals -- which were functional, unique and had walkability -- captured her attention.

"They feel as free as a flip-flop but are more secure on your foot," she said. "It's a very unique style of shoe."

Hill bought several pairs of the sandals, which she wore when she returned home. People kept stopping her to see the shoes. So she decided to market the sandals from her home in York. That meant she had to find the shoemaker in India.

It was a longshot, she said, but Hill found the shoemaker's son, with whom she corresponds via email.

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"I finally got some samples," she said. "They were extremely excited to be working with me."

She worked with the son and father in India to design shoes she believed would attract consumers in the United States, and started to market Paduka Sandals, which she sells for about $30 via eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Pinterest and her website.

"I was selling faster than I could get inventory," she said. "I'm shipping them out of my spare bedroom."

To expand her new business, Hill created a Kickstarter campaign. She thought the crowdfunding idea was fascinating, and didn't want to take out a bank loan.

Within the first of three weeks, she raised roughly $2,300, about 67 percent of her $3,500 goal. The project ended up with more than that: $4,271.

"I've been overwhelmed by the support of my existing customers," she said, and added she wants to support women in India who craft the sandals for the manufacturer she works with. "I would like to create a socially responsible business."

Hill's friend, Steven Shellenberger of York, was with her on the trip to India when she found the paduka sandals.

"She fell in love with them right from the beginning," he said. "It was a stroke of luck she (later) found the manufacturer."

Shellenberger, who owns Architectural Antiques, which has warehouses in York County and Philadelphia, said he believes Hill's venture will be successful.

"It's a matter of finding something you're passionate about," he said, "something that not everybody else is doing."

Jane Calcina-Clinton of Yoe learned of Hill's Paduka Sandals from a friend and bought some of the shoes.

"I always get compliments," she said. "They're very comfortable. They really mold to your feet."